Mah Bow Tan
Singapore
“The previous generation of Singaporeans overcame huge odds together to create this improbable nation which we call home. Let this generation work as one to define our country for the next lap of our journey. Sir, on this note, I fully support the amended Motion. Page: 143”
“Like all upgrading programmes, there is a certain budget, and a certain pace at which we will build. We have completed the LUP and now we are going on towards the HIP. The Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) is ongoing.”
“For those who cannot afford home ownership, we will provide rental flats. For the rest where there is hardship involved, that is where the safety net comes in. I do not think we should make the safety net so wide as to bring in everybody.”
“Building a studio apartment is no different from building any other HDB flat. If a person applies now and the building works start now, he can get it in two-and-a-half years to three years. We have stepped up the building of studio apartments over the last couple of years.”
“Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Health (a) how many people have signed an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) and how many have revoked them since; and (b) whether there is a need to review the current rules on AMDs which do not require a person who has revoked the AMD to inform the Registrar, thus causing uncertainty for hospitals t…”
“Parents who wish to exert more control over the maximum mobile service charges incurred by their children may consider service options such as mobile pre-paid cards. IDA is aware of the public's concerns on mobile subscriptions, and will continually review policies and look into measures to further protect the interest of consumers.”
The complete record
Every one of 3,030 lines we hold for Mah Bow Tan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 14 of 61.
“Sir, as far as the impact on the final price of goods and services to the consumers is concerned, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has a CPI index that it publishes regularly. I believe that the overall impact on inflation so far, not just because of the shortage of space and rent hikes but many other things, is relatively mild. I will leave MTI to announce the details. As far as the impact on cost of doing business is concerned, let me just point out for Members' benefit that although our office rental rates have gone up, in terms of the overall comparison with other major global business hubs in the world, we are still ranked relatively low. Compared to, say, New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, we are actually ranked quite far down the list. In fact, I have got some figures here. If I may share this with Members, there is a Global Office Occupancy Cost Survey that was done in January 2007, and it ranked Singapore number 55 in terms of overall office occupancy cost. I think they define this "cost" to mean not just the cost of rental per se but also the cost of maintenance, property tax, and so on. In terms of overall cost, we are number 55, way down the list. London is number one, then Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and so on. This is obviously something which we would like to monitor closely. We do not want to price ourselves out of the market if the costs of doing business in Singapore are too high. At the same time, I think we should also bear in mind that there is a limited amount of rabbits that the Government can pull out of its hat in terms of keeping costs down, especially when it comes to land cost, especially in a situation where land is in short supply. SUB-SALE OF PRIVATE PROPERTIES IN CENTRAL AND OUTER CENTRAL REGIONS 7.”
“Sir, the Member is correct in pointing out that if the leases are too short, there will be disruption problems later on when the leases expire. Similarly, if the leases are too short, then it is not worthwhile for people to take up those leases. So we are looking at a suitable lease which will not be too short but which will not be too long either that would cause the cost of the land to go up. We are looking at something around 9-10 years' lease, renewable over two to three tranches.”
“Anybody who would like to set up an office for two to three people, or who would like to experiment and start off on a very modest basis, can register their office using an HDB address. In fact, many have already done so. If the Member is interested, I would be happy to send her further information on this scheme.”
“Sir, the Member asked whether we would consider a relocation grant to ease the financial burdens of SMEs due to redevelopment. If she is referring to the relocation of SMEs from existing commercial buildings, then this is something that the SMEs or the tenants have to take up and discuss with the landlords of the buildings themselves. However, if it is a matter of relocating from Government premises, eg, SMEs relocating out of HDB industrial parks, yes, there are schemes that are in place which do provide some relocation grants. As for the interim shortage of office space, as I have explained earlier, this is due to quite a severe imbalance in supply and demand. The Ministry, as well as other Government agencies, is looking into various ways of meeting this demand, especially in the short term. And that is the reason why we have decided to allocate sites for transitional office space. Whilst there is sufficient space coming on stream in 2010 and beyond, the problem is a shortage of space from now until 2010. So, in order to try to meet that transitional shortage, we would like to offer such sites for transitional offices. And, indeed, these offices are quite easy to build and also very comfortable. I believe some Members may have visited the LTA offices in Kampong Java. These offices were built very quickly and at a very low cost. The people who are working there tell me that it is a very comfortable office to work in. So that can help plug some of the gaps. For SMEs or small businesses who want to start up or who have difficulties looking for space, they are currently able to use residential premises for their office. HDB has a Home Office Scheme. The Home Office Scheme is very well taken up.”
“Firstly, it immediately removes supply from the office stock, as buildings are demolished or closed for refurbishment. Secondly, the decanted businesses exert additional demand as they have to look for alternative space to relocate their operations. Many of these buildings are in reasonably good condition and can still meet the needs of most office users, especially in the next two to three years. While the Government does encourage building owners to rejuvenate and redevelop their older buildings, such redevelopment is not appropriate at this point in time. It will worsen the office supply shortage, and hinder our efforts to attract financial institutions and other businesses who are thinking of setting up offices or expanding their existing operations in Singapore. MND and URA will continue to monitor the office market closely and when the supply situation improves, we will remove this restriction. Sir, the Member also asked whether my Ministry will publish information on available office space. I would like to inform her that such information is already provided by property agents and consultants and are publicly available. There is no need for the Government to duplicate their efforts. However, what we can and will do is to publish information on the new supply of office space in specific projects that will be completed over the next few years. I hope the release of such additional information will improve the working of the office space market and facilitate the necessary market adjustments in supply going forward.”
“For example, a new 20,000 square metres development has just been completed in Changi Business Park which can cater to such backroom user needs. More business park space is expected to be completed over the next two to three years, to help meet the office space needs of suitable firms. Companies can also consider leasing vacant State buildings, such as office buildings or suitable old school buildings, which are immediately available and can be put to office use quickly. SLA has made available some 51,000 square metres of such space. More such properties suitable for office use will be made available in the next few months. To further ease the short-term shortage, URA will be identifying sites for the development of transitional offices. These sites will be made available on short-term leases for the development of low-rise office buildings of about three to four storeys. They can be built quickly in about one year and at relatively low cost, and can thus meet more immediate needs. More details on the development of transitional offices will be made available shortly. Sir, measures to meet office demand in the short term will not be effective if there is a continual depletion of office space through the conversion of existing office buildings to other uses. This is taking place despite the tight office situation, especially within the Central Area. As such, URA has announced earlier today that it will temporarily disallow conversion of office buildings to other uses in the Central Area until 31st December 2009. Let me explain the rationale for this move. The conversion of office buildings in the Central Area worsens the current office situation in two ways.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the current tightness in the office space market is due to high demand, which is driven by Singapore's robust economic growth over the last two years, coupled with low net supply due to the previous few years of slow growth, the conversion of office space to other uses and the redevelopment of office buildings. In fact, the increase in demand of 290,000 square metres in 2006 was the highest annual increase since year 2000. On the other hand, because not many new office projects were initiated in the last few years, and with the conversion of some office buildings to other uses and the redevelopment of office buildings, the net additional supply of office space was low. In 2005/2006, the supply increased by only 47,000 square metres. However, the situation is expected to improve in 2010 when a substantial amount of new supply, totalling about 330,000 square metres, comes on stream. This includes 180,000 square metres of office space from Phase 1 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre. MND will continue to release land at a steady pace via the Government Land Sales Programme, to ensure that there is sufficient land for office developments in the longer term. In the meantime, the market is already making some adjustments to mitigate the current tight situation. For example, some companies have started to reorganise their operations so that they can relocate either fully or partially out of the Central Area. This will free up some office space in the city. Besides office buildings, space at business parks can also meet the needs of some companies. Backroom operations and data centres of financial institutions or SMEs can be housed in such business park space.”
“From 1998 to 2002, a total of 24 flats were recovered by HDB. These flats were either abandoned by lessees or returned to HDB by lessees due to default in mortgage payments. The breakdown by year is provided in the table below. Year No. of cases 1998 8 1999 5 2000 9 2001 1 2002 1 Total 24 APPENDICES Section Name: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Title: CIVIL SERVICE SALARY REVISIONS Filename : Appendix - Annual Salary Components for MR4 Grade MP Name: Mr Teo Chee Hean Section Name: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Title: CIVIL SERVICE SALARY REVISIONS Filename : Appendix - Dwell Rate of Top 48 Earners year-on-year (Average YA2000-YA2006) MP Name: Mr Teo Chee Hean Section Name: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Title: CIVIL SERVICE SALARY REVISIONS Filename : Appendix - Performance Bonus Distribution for Administrative Officers for work done in 2006 MP Name: Mr Teo Chee Hean”
“Madam, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2007/2008, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 5th March 2007.”
“Madam, may I seek your consent to move that progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again on Monday, 5th March 2007?”
“The park connector is a very extensive one. When we finally complete the 200 km we are talking about, it will link not just the neighbourhood parks but also the major parks, like East Coast Park all the way to the West Coast - Kent Ridge Park. So we will have to phase it in. We cannot do it all together. In fact, I indicated in my reply that we expect to complete it only by 2011-2012 or so. Obviously, the ones that will bring the most benefit to the community will be done first. By definition, those in the housing estates will be given priority. But, at the same time, there are certain needs in other areas that also need to be satisfied. The reason why we built the Changi boardwalk was because we wanted to rejuvenate the Changi area. We wanted to bring back the rustic charm of the Changi area, redevelop some of the infrastructure that was getting a bit weak and tired, relocate the bumboat jetty in that area. That is the reason why, in conjunction with all those works, we decided to build the Changi boardwalk. Yes, as a general policy, we will build the boardwalk in areas where there will be maximum benefit, which means that housing estates will get priority, but it does not mean that we will not start work on the other areas. We will continue to do so depending on the redevelopment plan for these other areas. As regards spalling concrete, if it is within the flats, outside the liability period, yes, the spalling concrete problems within the flats will be the responsibility of the flat owners. As the Member knows very well, the cause of spalling concrete is because of the deterioration of the materials - wear and tear over time. Like other wear and tear items within the flats, the flat owners themselves would have to bear responsibility.”
“I would like to thank the Member for her questions. First of all, let me say that the new supply sources of sand are reliable sources and I have no reason to doubt that they will continue to supply, so long as the demand is there from us and also the price is right. Would it cost more? These supply sources are usually much further away, so the transport cost alone is higher and, therefore, I expect that the total cost of these materials will be higher. That is the reason why, going back to the third limb of her question, the Government has decided that we will, because this is an unusual situation, co-share in the increased cost with the contractors for public sector projects. Why only public sector projects? Because Government is the developer of these public sector projects. As the developer, we undertake to co-share part of the increased cost due to the higher cost of sand. I expect that the private sector developers will be similarly forthcoming when they negotiate with their contractors and the concrete suppliers to co-share the cost of their projects. We do not co-share for private sector projects because we are not the developer. 6.15 pm How much is the additional burden? I think I indicated to this House, in answer to an earlier question, that I do not expect the increase in cost will exceed 1-3% of the total project cost. If we increase the cost of sand, and even the granite, construction cost will go up by about 4-5%. If we take into account the total project cost, including land cost, etc, the increase in cost will be about 1-3%, which is, I submit, quite manageable.”
“My Parliamentary Secretary, in an answer to a question a few days ago, told the House that we have about 900 households that are affected by mortgagee sale action so far. This is about 1% of the total number of mortgage loan cases by the banks. Out of the 895 households that are affected so far, 273 have appealed for help. Of these, 131 were offered a rental flat while another 13, or 5%, who met the credit assessment guidelines, were provided a concessionary loan for another flat. Madam, in conclusion, let me just restate again that our housing subsidies are limited. They need to be very carefully and equitably distributed, with focus on the truly deserving cases. So personal financial responsibility is the key; family support is the key and where such is not available, then the Government steps in to provide help to those who have no other options. HDB Shops”
“It is important for us to continue to maintain our family focus, to insist that if you have children, if you have somebody who can afford to house you, this is your first option and not your last option. So, this is the reason why every appeal case of elderly families who do not have a house or who have lost their house, and want to come back to the rental housing market, we examine it very carefully. One of the questions we ask is: "Do you have a family?"; "Do you have children?"; "Are they able to house you?". As for those who are having financial difficulty with the mortgage loans, HDB, as a general policy, says, "Look, this is between you and the banks. You may lose your flat because you are not able to repay your loan. We will help you to talk to the bank. We will help you to refer your case to maybe the CDC or VWOs. We will try and help you in these other ways." But we cannot say that because you have lost your flat, therefore, automatically, you will be entitled to an HDB flat. HDB will always examine every case carefully and, if it is a deserving case, they will consider either granting them another concessionary loan to buy a flat or give them a rental flat. 5.15 pm So these are the ways that we try to help these families - whether it is the elderly, the low-income or those who have lost their flats. I stress again that not all mortgagee cases need HDB's help with their housing arrangements. Many of them, after investigation, find that they can actually reside with their families, friends or relatives, and they do so, and we encourage them to do so until they are ready to purchase the next flat.”
“We will give them an additional housing grant. Indeed, this is why we must continue with our home ownership policy - we want to help Singaporeans who can afford to, to own their own homes. Let me now address Ms Irene Ng's point about the permanent debarment scheme. She asked whether we will review the rule that debars somebody for 30 months from coming back to the housing market. Specifically, she asked whether we could remove the debarment rule to allow the elderly persons to sell their flat and switch to a rental flat. The question in this case really is not about the debarment scheme, it is really about our subsidy policy. It is about whether we want to provide yet another subsidy, the third subsidy in some cases. Earlier, I have explained that we provide a first subsidy, and, in some cases, a second. The question now is whether we are going to provide a third one, since HDB rental flats are essentially subsidised flats. We should really be reserving these heavily subsidised rental flats for those who have no other housing options. In the example she cited, she talked about those who are downgrading, renting from the open market, reverse mortgage, and so on. But there was no mention about staying with the family. In many of the cases, when we investigate, we find that they actually have three, four or even five children, all of whom have their own flats. So we asked them why is it that they do not stay with their children. They said, "Oh, it's inconvenient" or their children do not want them to stay with them. Why is it that the children they raised do not want to allow them to stay? Surely, it is incumbent upon the children to look after their parents' housing needs, rather than to toss them to the Government.”
“They are not meant to be rental flats for those who want to leave their homes or their children want to throw them out of their houses or they feel that they want to live on their own because it is more convenient and so forth. I just want to make this point very clear that our public rental scheme is meant for those families who are extremely poor and in real need for the public rental flats. To help these needy households, towards the end of last year I announced that we would increase the supply of subsidised rental flats. We started off by converting some old flats at Boon Lay and Woodlands into 1- and 2-rooms rental flats. This will generate about 1,000 new rental flats. We are also going to build new rental blocks at Chua Chu Kang, Sembawang and Yishun and we intend to convert another two blocks at Redhill to rental flats. All these will yield a total of 2,200 rental flats by 2009, but this is the supply of rental flats. Let me remind Members that we still need to ensure that the rental flat subsidies are targeted at those who really need them and not those who would like to have a cheap place to stay. That is the reason why we have aligned our rental rates to household incomes. The majority of our tenants, about 80%, who have household incomes below $800 a month will not be affected. They will continue to pay the heavily subsidised rent of about $30 a month. So, if you are staying in a 1-room flat, you pay $30 a month. Those who have incomes between $800 and $1,500, they will now pay about $110 per month. Those above $1,500, we are raising it to between $180 and $250 a month. This last group, those who are earning more than $1,500, actually are quite able to afford a small flat with some help from the Government. We will help them along this direction.”
“So that is the reason why we have expanded CIPC to allow for BFA and the simple procedure is to apply for it through the CCC. Why the CCC? Because they are the ones who are most familiar with the neighbourhood. If all Town Councils do this, follow the procedure, draft their BFA masterplans and apply for access to the CIPC funds, I am sure that by our target date of 2011, all Town Councils will be redeveloped and all the BFA facilities will be put in place. Let me summarise how we are helping the elderly with their housing needs. First, we will continue to facilitate monetisation. We will help the elderly through downgrading and building more studio apartments and smaller flats. Second, we will explore the enhancement of other monetisation options to include those who wish to age in place. And third, we will continue to make our housing estates more elderly friendly through lift upgrading and BFA. There is another issue which Members have consistently brought up. Mdm Ho Geok Choo raised this issue, and this is the issue of low income households. There is no doubt that even as we continue to ensure the affordability of our flats for the vast majority of Singaporeans, there are citizen households who do not have the financial means to afford home ownership. And I think it would be wrong for us to try and get them to go into home ownership flats when they cannot afford it in the first place. So for these households, we are providing a roof over their heads through the public rental scheme. And because they are very, very low income households, these public rental flats are very heavily subsidised. The public rental scheme is really meant for the very low income families in our community.”
“I want to assure Ms Ng that we will continue to also explore other monetisation options, such as the home reversion scheme that she talked about, to give the elderly a greater variety of choices. Let me now talk about barrier-free accessibility which Mr Siew Kum Hong mentioned. It is an important part of our programme to help the elderly to age in place to make sure that the environment is barrier free and more elderly friendly. My MOS has already updated Members about the progress of the LUP which is also part of the barrier-free accessibility programme, and we are also supporting the Town Councils. We will extend the barrier-free accessibility to all HDB precincts by 2011. How do we fund it? We have a CIPC fund. The CIPC fund is meant to help or improve projects within the community. So we decided that we will expand the CIPC fund to also fund the construction of the barrier-free accessibility (BFA) items such as ramps, railings and so on. All Town Councils will be invited to draw up their BFA masterplans for their estates and apply for access to the CIPC fund. I just want to make it very clear at this point that we are not excluding any Town Council from applying for these funds. Everybody is welcome to apply for the funds and, in fact, we have written to every Town Council, including to Mr Low Thia Khiang, to apply for the CIPC funds in order to implement BFA. So I do not think there should be any problem in so doing. This is not subject to political consideration, it is just commonsense. Here you have a CIPC fund and you are using it to improve the neighbourhood and the precincts and there we have a need to improve barrier-free accessibility. Why do we not put the two together?”
“For this year, out of the 4,000 new flats that they are going to build, about a quarter of them will be studio apartments or 2-room flats which will allow more elderly lessees this option of downgrading. Then there is the other option of ageing in place. I think Ms Irene Ng spoke about this as an option. This is an option that is favoured by quite a few of our elderly lessees. They like the flat, they like the neighbourhood, they like the neighbours, and they do not want to move. Fair enough. So there is another viable option for them. They do not have to move. They can sub-let one or two rooms if they are living in a 4-room or 5-room flat to earn rental income. Again, this is a very lucrative option because the current going rental rate for just a room in an HDB flat itself, depending on its location, can be anything from $250 to $500. No inconvenience to them, they stay where they are, rent out a room to a respectable couple or to a single person and collect $250 to $500 a month. Yet, another option is reverse mortgage. Since March 2006, HDB has relaxed its regulations to allow the elderly to commit their flat to a reverse mortgage scheme and to receive a steady flow of income. Now, this is a scheme that is offered by the private sector and HDB does not intend to offer this scheme or to take up the risk, as suggested by Ms Irene Ng, but it is a viable scheme for a few people and they have taken it up. But, nevertheless, I accept that this is still not as many as we would like to see taking up such a scheme, maybe because they are not familiar with it. So we will keep on looking at it and see how we can further improve or tweak the scheme to make it more attractive.”
“And if they can do so, they can actually monetise their flat by either selling or sub-letting their flat and realising a steady stream of rental income. This is actually quite a lucrative option. The rental rate for a whole flat is quite substantial now. I think Members may have read in the papers that, in fact, it has gone up. I know that in Tampines, my constituency, the average rental for a 3-room flat is about $1,000. So far, about 12,600 households in Singapore have taken up this option to sub-let their whole flat. We have opened up the housing HDB market to allow people to sub-let their whole flats without having to do it surreptitiously, locking up one room and so on. So now they can actually sub-let the whole flat openly, legally, provided they meet certain conditions. In fact, we are going to further relax these conditions, as I have announced earlier. So this is one very viable and very lucrative option. The next option, of course, is downgrading. They want to stay on their own and they do not want to bother their children. They can do so. How? By selling their flat, and buying a smaller flat or a studio apartment. An elderly household downgrading from a 3-room flat to a studio apartment can unlock about $80,000 in cash and CPF proceeds to meet their non-housing needs, assuming there is no outstanding loan. So, again, this is a fairly substantial amount. We have offered about 1,400 studio apartments to date, and they have been very well received. Almost all of them have been taken up and we intend to build more. So we will resume the building of studio apartments as well as other small flats such as the new 2-room flats which I have announced earlier.”
“Madam, first of all, let me address the questions that were posed by Ms Irene Ng, Mdm Ho Geok Choo and Mdm Cynthia Phua about the need for more public housing support for the elderly and the low-income. I have earlier explained earlier in this House the overall framework for Government's measures in catering to the housing needs of Singaporeans. Let me now elaborate a bit more on the specific measures that we are taking to help the elderly and the low-income households, especially those in financial difficulties. As Members noted, post-retirement financial security is an important consideration for the elderly. Fortunately for us, most elderly HDB lessees have a store of wealth and this is in the form of that HDB flat that they own, a flat which they have bought with their hard-earned savings and which the Government has facilitated through the provision of housing subsidies and concessionary loans. They have this store of value. The question is: how do we unlock this store of value? How do we help them to monetise their flats to supplement their CPF and also other savings? In this regard, the HDB has put in place a range of options which would suit various elderly households, their different circumstances and needs. Let me just go through these options. 5.00 pm First of all, staying with the family - I think this is an important option. This is an option that many MPs do not mention when they write to the HDB to appeal on behalf of their residents. But this is something which I think needs to be highlighted to the Members and also our residents. Staying with the family means making use of the availability of alternative accommodation provided by their children.”
“So I would like to urge young couples to also look at HDB resale flats as a first home for them and make good use of the housing grants that the Government is giving to them. One final announcement I want to make is on DBSS, that is, the Design, Build and Sell Scheme. We launched the first one in Tampines. I think Mr Zainudin Nordin mentioned that it was very successful and, yes, it was. Are we building anymore? Yes, we will do so. We will launch more new sites in 2007 and the next site is scheduled to be in Kallang, Whampoa. Sir, in conclusion, let me reiterate that we are well on track, in terms of public housing to prepare Singapore for the future. I want to assure Members that we remain committed to provide flat buyers with a range of housing options. We also want to commit that these flats would remain affordable. There would be flats that meet their specific needs and budgets. We would also work with Singaporeans to make this small island nation of ours their best home. Rejuvenation of HDB Estates”
“I think Members, including Mr Zainudin Nordin and Mdm Cynthia Phua, asked about housing for the elderly singles, and so on. Let me just briefly inform the House that we are making good progress with clearing our stock of unsold flats. We currently have about 4,000 to 5,000 unsold flats available for sale. This is a far cry from the 20,000-over flats that we had in the past. On smaller flats, we are now building smaller flats. We started building smaller flats under the BTO programme a few years ago, starting with the 3-room flats. We have offered about 1,000 of such 3-room flats up to now. We are going to build 2-room flats and, to date, we have launched for sale about 270 2-room flats. We have also launched about 1,400 studio apartments for elderly citizens so far. We are going to launch some more in the course of the next few years. For example, in 2007, we intend to launch 4,000 new HDB flats and half of 4,000 will be the smaller flats - the studio apartments, 2-room and 3-room flats. Let me just make one other point about building of flats in mature estates. I wanted to make this point because Members of the House have raised this with me and I have also received many letters and emails about young couples wanting new flats in mature HDB estates. I want to make the point that we cannot build the new flats in the area of their choice all the time. This is why I mentioned earlier that first-timer young couples should also be looking at resale flats, not just new flats. This is important because we do not have space to build many new flats in mature estates, and if we try to over build new flats, then I think we will be storing problems for ourselves later.”
“But where there is a need, where the case is a compelling one, and we look at every case, HDB will grant a second concessionary loan, and even a third one, sometimes, even a fourth one, and it has been done before. Similarly, those who have tried or unable to secure a bank loan, for whatever reason, can also apply for a concessionary loan from HDB. I am aware, as Mr Michael Palmer pointed out, that some banks may not be willing to grant mortgage loans below a certain quantum. HDB does check and consult with the various banks and financial houses, and they are told that it is possible for flat buyers to secure mortgage loans which are lower than $100,000 - in fact, I am told, as low as $40,000. So it depends on the banks and it depends on the credit worthiness of the individual and the individual circumstances. But we will have to leave this to the banks. Sir, the point about the concessionary loan and the bank loan is that those who want a basic first flat, the first timers, and even the second timers who are upgrading, will continue to enjoy the concessionary loan. That will not be changed, and this is what I said when I spoke about the concessionary loan in this House. But those who require bank loans are those who are getting market rate loans in the past - those who have high net worth, those who have private property, and so on. This is still the situation that, as far as basic housing is concerned, as far as the first house and the second house are concerned, we will not change our policy on providing concessionary loans for eligible Singaporeans. Let me now touch on Members' questions about the HDB building programme and the supply and demand for public housing.”
“In cases where HDB is able to unbundle the housing subsidy from the new flat, it has actually made them available to singles. Recently, HDB released a batch of 250 unsold flats for sale as resale flats on the open market. For these flats, first-timer singles can apply for them and also make use of the single's grant to purchase these flats. So it is possible. But for the general stock of new flats, we are not able to have this differential pricing formula at the moment. But where we are able to do so, yes, singles will be able to continue to enjoy the subsidy and, at the same time, buy themselves a new flat. Mdm Cynthia Phua asked about giving downgraders a concessionary loan. The policy is that second-timer households that are moving naturally or downgrading will not enjoy the second concessionary loan. Why? Because, generally, when they do so, they are unlocking the value from their first flat and they actually have quite a significant proceed from the sale which can then be used to finance the purchase of their new flat. So if you are selling your first flat and you have enough for your second flat, what is the rationale for us to provide the second concessionary loan. But there are downgraders who are facing financial difficulty. I recognise that. For these cases, HDB will grant concessionary loans to them on a case-by-case basis upon appeal. We have to do this because if we change our policy, as the Member wants us to do, then in fact most of the people who are either downgrading or moving naturally will be benefiting from something which they do not need to benefit from.”
“And more importantly, if we overdo this, if we over provide subsidies and give to people who actually should not be entitled to such subsidies, I think we undermine some of the larger public housing objectives that I outlined earlier. So what is our general philosophy on subsidies? First, it is to encourage family formation and personal responsibility. We provide more housing support for first-timers versus subsequent flat buyers. First-timers who have not enjoyed any subsidies will receive more subsidies than those who are buying for the second or third time. Of course, there are certain cases where, for example, first-timers marry second-timers, etc. In such cases, we will have to tweak the situation such that if one party has already enjoyed the housing subsidy, the household would still enjoy a subsidy in the form of a grant, but instead of the full grant, he will get only half the grant. Ms Irene Ng suggests that we relax the rules on the sale of new flats for singles. In the same spirit of giving more to those who need it more, we give more subsidies to families as opposed to singles. Why? Because families have more pressing housing needs. Yes, singles would also need housing, and that is the reason why we have, over the years, relaxed many of the rules for singles. Those who are aged 35 and above are allowed to buy resale flats. Those who earn up to $3,000 a month are eligible for single's grant of $11,000. But why resale flats, why not new flats, Ms Irene Ng asked. For the same reason that they get a single's grant and not a family grant. In other words, the level of subsidy for new flats is much higher, and it is for a family unit. She asked why we cannot have differential pricing where you sell a new flat to a single at a different price.”
“I think the starting point is that we have got to keep on advising and educating them - advising them that before you buy a HDB flat, it is a big ticket item, it is a long-term financial commitment, think carefully, exercise prudence, buy a flat within your means. This is a message that I have sent out, and I mentioned in the House many, many times. But I think that is not enough. We will have to put in place measures at the HDB end to also ensure that they exercise prudence and if they do not exercise it, we will take certain steps to ensure that they do not over-commit. So to respond to Mr Michael Palmer as to what HDB is doing, we have offered financial counselling to flat buyers since 2002. We started credit assessment of HDB loans since 1997. From January this year, we will be requiring home flat buyers to produce a home loan eligibility (HLE) letter from HDB, or if you are borrowing from the banks, a letter of offer before they are allowed to proceed with their purchases. So before they buy and commit, and sign on the dotted line, they must know exactly how much they can borrow and what are their repayments like, and work out very carefully their commitments before they plunge in. This will help, I believe, to ensure that flat buyers do not over-commit when they are unable to afford it. Sir, let me now turn to the issue of housing subsidies. Many Members have asked for greater allocation of subsidies to various groups of people. I acknowledge that, yes, there are people who are in special needs. But in general, if we are making public policy, we have to recognise that, on the one hand, we want to help, but, on the other hand, there is a limit to the amount of subsidies that the Government is able to provide.”
“Under certain conditions, they can sublet their entire flats. I would like to inform Members that we will be further relaxing some of these conditions. Currently, households have to stay in their flats for either five or 10 years, depending on whether they have an existing HDB loan or not before they can sublet their flats. With immediate effect, HDB will reduce the minimum occupation period for subletting to five years for a subsidised flat and three years if the flat was purchased without a housing subsidy. Sir, while we have put in place a comprehensive public housing framework to cater to the changing needs of Singaporeans over their lifetime, how it benefits each household obviously depends on the individual choices and the judgement that they have made. As Mr Michael Palmer mentioned just now, whether they make right choices, whether it is a right judgement, poor judgement, etc, I would reply to him in greater detail later on. But I think we have all seen in our meet-the-people sessions how families end up homeless, and come to us for help. When we check and trace their records, we will find that they have bought and sold two, sometimes, three, and in a few cases, more than flats. They bought and sold HDB flats when times were good, they made a lot of money. Instead of saving it, they went on a spending spree. Then they took on larger mortgages for subsequent flats, and at the end, when the musical chair stopped, property market took a downturn, many of them found themselves unable to service their mortgage loans. This is a problem with some families. How do we help them?”
“So to help families upgrade to a larger flat, HDB provides eligible families with another housing subsidy in the form of a second concessionary loan. Flat buyers can also enjoy a second housing subsidy if they choose to buy a second subsidised flat from HDB but this second bite, so called second bite for upgraders, would be a smaller bite because they would be subject to the payment of a resale levy. This is to ensure that the Government's housing budget is skewed towards more help for first-timers who are seeking to set up their first homes. These first two objectives, ie, purchase of a first flat (the home ownership objective) and enabling them to improve themselves, upgrade if they need to (the social mobility objective) - collectively, help the household to accumulate housing equity over their lifetime which sets the stage for the third objective, which is monetisation in old age. This third objective has become increasingly important in the light of our rapidly ageing society. So home ownership has provided Singaporeans with a valuable asset in the form of the HDB flats. How valuable? The Department of Statistics (DOS) did a study in 2005 and they found that HDB households on the average had about $154,000 in net equity. Net equity means the value of their assets minus any outstanding loan that is due, and this equity is captured within their HDB flat. We have put in place several policies to help HDB residents unlock this value that is stored in their flat, and I will elaborate on some of these options in my later replies. They can either cash out or move to a smaller flat, HDB studio apartment, or sub-let their rooms, etc. 4.15 pm But we have also allowed flat owners to sublet their entire flats. This relaxation was done several years ago.”
“So if you take all these together - the housing subsidy and the concessionary loan - first-time flat buyers who purchased flats from HDB last year, as I indicated in the House just now, would use, on average, about 20% of their monthly household income to service their housing loans and more than 70% of those who purchase HDB flat can service their housing loans entirely from their CPF contributions. In other words, they do not have to touch their take-home pay at all. Will affordability be affected if we have a larger population? Mdm Cynthia Phua asked this question. Our planners have concluded that we will have enough land for housing this number of people if we have to. Let me also assure her that at the same time, we will calibrate our housing subsidies such that up to 90% of Singaporeans can continue to afford a basic HDB flat. In other words, there is no change in our HDB home ownership policy. In addition, we will also not compromise on the quality of the HDB heartlands. This is where most of our people live and we will make sure that they will continue to live in an environment that is of the highest quality. So it is not just affordable but it is of the highest quality. I will leave my Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu, to elaborate on our new urban regeneration plans in her speech later on. So that was about the young family, the one who started off in life - first, HDB flat, housing subsidy, concessionary loan. Next, I want to talk about social mobility for upgraders. We recognise that the housing needs of families will change over time. Their children grow older and there will be increasing demand for space within the home.”
“In gist, the public housing programme serves to cater to the different housing needs of different groups of Singaporeans over the course of their lifetime. First, we meet the needs of the young couple who want a roof over their heads, and their first flat must be affordable and preferably near their parents. Next, as their income level rises and as the number of family members increases, they may want to upgrade to a larger home. Then, finally, as they grow old and their children get married and start their own families, they need cash for their retirement needs. So this is the lifecycle framework for public housing. Let me elaborate on each of them. First, home ownership for first-timer families. To help young couples set up their first home, the Government provides subsidies in two ways, depending on the type of flat they buy. If they buy a new flat, the subsidy is built into the price of the flat. In other words, the flat is priced below its market price. Those who prefer to buy a resale flat because of location or size, the type of flat or they want it more urgently, they can obtain a CPF housing grant, which at the moment stands at between $30,000 to $40,000. In addition, the Government provides an additional CPF housing grant of between $5,000 to $20,000 for lower income households, ie, those defined as earning up to $3,000 a month. At the end of January 2007, more than 2,000 households have benefited from the additional housing grant. Over and above all these subsidies, the Government also helps first-time flat buyers by providing them with a subsidised mortgage financing loan in the form of an HDB concessionary loan.”
“Unless we do so, some of these immigrants will live with us in our HDB estates. They will be introduced to our local food, the local lingo, and local habits, both good and bad habits unfortunately. Their children will go to our local schools and they will mix with Singaporeans of all races. Over time, some of them will become citizens, do national service and raise Singapore families. So the cycle goes on, just as many of us were born and bred here when our forefathers came to this land as fresh immigrants from China, India and other parts of Asia and beyond. Sir, many Members, including Mdm Cynthia Phua, Mr Zainudin Nordin and others, are worried and expressed concerns about how we are going to keep public housing affordable. Are we going to keep to our policy of housing as many Singaporeans as possible in HDB estates, especially when we are going to compete for limited housing resources? Let me just categorically state upfront that, going forward, public housing remains a key policy instrument to meet two major objectives. The first objective is obviously to meet the housing needs of the majority of the population and that will remain. The second objective is to provide a social safety net for lower income Singaporeans. Together with the CPF scheme, together with the medical healthcare support system and now together with Workfare, public housing will be one of the key pillars of our social security framework. Let me turn to the specific questions about HDB policies, concessionary loans, housing grant, resale levy, rental flats, singles, elderly and so on. Let me try and put all these individual policies into a coherent framework, to put into context so that some of these individual policies start to make some sense.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, before I answer the specific questions posed by the Members on the various HDB policies, let me just go back to the earlier answer that I gave concerning our efforts to reach the top of the premier league of global cities. And, here, I want to say that even as we are striving for that goal, I am proud that as far as our public housing is concerned, I believe that we are up there with the best in the world, with possibly the highest home ownership rate in the world. If you cast your mind back, considering that less than 50 years ago, most Singaporeans were living in overcrowded slums, squatter colonies in the city, I think you will agree with me that it is quite a remarkable achievement. So when Members raised concerns about whether social stability will be affected by a larger population and more immigration, I can say with quite a high degree of confidence that it will not. One of the reasons for my confidence is our public housing programme. It is a programme that has not only given Singaporeans a roof over their heads but it has also provided Singaporeans with an asset and a physical stake in the nation, and successive generations of Singaporeans are able to own a piece of Singapore and call it home. Indeed, the common experience of HDB living has played a key role in the development of the collective Singapore identity. Each HDB estate is a mini Singapore. It has residents of different races, languages, and religions living and interacting as neighbours. We learn to understand one another, and we relate to one another through this common experience. And this identity is important for us, especially as we face the challenges of globalisation and even as we welcome more immigrants to Singapore.”
“Obviously, we have to address not just future needs but also present challenges, ie, the one that we are facing now in the construction industry. But with resolve, determination, creativity, with the long-term planning approach, we can overcome constraints and we can achieve our vision of making Singapore a livable and attractive city, even with a higher population. Affordable Housing”
“As in the case of land sand, as Members may have read, the Government has worked out some co-sharing arrangements with the contractors and concrete suppliers to assist them for the existing public sector projects, and we will do the same for this disruption. The BCA has briefed the industry associations on the situation and what the Government is doing, and what the Government is prepared to do to help the industry. Sir, let me assure Members that the Government is closely monitoring the disruption in the supply of granite, and is taking necessary measures to ensure that our construction activities will not be disrupted during this period of uncertainty. We will work with the industry and we will do whatever is necessary - find alternative sources, supply from stockpiles, look for alternative methods. This is something that is urgent and necessary for us and, going forward, we must adopt more sustainable construction methodologies. We have got to look for alternative materials. We have to reduce our dependence on concrete and therefore the need for granite and sand. This is the best way to ensure that our long-term plans to develop our infrastructure and to rejuvenate our city will not be derailed. I am confident that this can be done. Sir, to conclude, our population will grow, both as a stimulant to and a result of economic growth. The challenge we face is how to ensure that the quality of our living environment is not compromised. We want a Singapore that is not just a place that provides jobs and opportunities, but also a quality of life that other major cities will increasingly find hard to maintain, and this is something that will become our competitive advantage. We can do this by planning ahead, by investing in our future needs now.”
“The reason why the barges were detained, according to our importers, was that it is to prevent the smuggling of sand following the recent ban on sand exports. Our verification in Singapore shows that sand has not been coming from Indonesia since the ban. So we are quite puzzled. We do not know how long these actions will continue. I have informed Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Yeo, and he has raised the matter with his Indonesian counterpart, Minister Hassan Wirajuda, to seek clarifications on these latest actions by the Indonesian authorities. Minister Hassan told George Yeo that there was no export ban on granite from Indonesia and that he would check what was the reason for the actions being taken that has caused this disruption. The Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang has also spoken to his Indonesian counterpart, Minister Mari Pangestu, who confirmed that there is no export ban on granite and that they are now verifying the situation. Meanwhile, to make up for any immediate shortfall in the supply and to make sure that work goes on at our construction sites, we are releasing granite aggregates from our stockpile. As part of our on-going efforts to diversify our sources of supply of essential construction materials, we are buying granite aggregates from other sources and encouraging the private sector importers to do the same. If the situation continues, I expect that the price of granite aggregates will go up due to the higher transportation costs, because we are bringing in this material from alternative sources, which are further away.”
“45 pm Sir, even as we talk about all these long-term plans, as Mr Charles Chong rightly pointed out, we also need to address some immediate concerns. One of the immediate concerns is this issue of the sand export ban and the disruption in granite supply from Indonesia. Let me, first of all, explain that we import raw materials for our construction industry from many sources. In the case of land sand to make concrete, as opposed to sea sand which we use for reclamation, we have been importing land sand mainly from Indonesia until they banned it recently. We have found alternative sources, so that is no longer an issue. We have also been importing granite from Indonesia, which our construction industry uses to produce concrete. Unlike land sand for concrete, and sea sand for reclamation, which Indonesia had banned in 2003, the export of granite in the form of aggregates as well as granite dust is not banned. However, in the last few days, the supply of granite from Indonesia has been disrupted. We understand that the Indonesian authorities have stepped up their checks and detained some barges which were carrying the granite materials to Singapore. Our importers told us that these barges carry granite; they are not carrying sand. It is granite in the form of aggregates or dust. They also say that they have the necessary certificates to prove this, because before they can export, they have to get certification from the various government agencies in Indonesia. They say that they have these certificates; yet their barges have been detained. On our end, we have verified that there has been no land sand from Indonesia since the ban took effect in early February.”
“Other than the city centre, we will be opening up new areas to bring more jobs and facilities to people living in the suburban estates. The first area of focus would be Jurong. We intend to facilitate development in the Jurong Regional Centre as the next phase and then the Paya Lebar Sub-Regional Centre after that. Further afield, we hope to be able to do the same in areas like Woodlands. Mr Zainudin Nordin also spoke about the lack of a night-time buzz. I think it is difficult for the Government to be involved in creating this night-time buzz, but we can do something to facilitate it. We want to make Singapore an attractive city not just by day, but also by night, a 24/7 city. In this respect, there are many things that we can do. URA, together with other agencies are working to see whether we can improve the range and quality of evening activities by improving the infrastructure in this area. We will focus on four main areas - Orchard Road, Singapore River, Bras Basah, Bugis and Marina Bay. For example, in the Marina Bay, we are looking at two projects. One is called a "Light, Water and Sound" show, where you use the Marina Bay's skyline as the backdrop or centrepiece for the show. The second is an "Aqua Shell", which is a floating stage for live theatre and musical performances. We are also exploring the feasibility of brightening up the Bras Basah-Bugis area, eg, through "Artvertisements" - advertisements that also double up as art pieces. Maybe this should come under MICA. This is something which should facilitate and encourage in order to create that night-time buzz Mr Zainudin is talking about. We want Singapore to be a key destination in Asia for round-the-clock excitement in entertainment, shopping and dining, all within a safe and secure environment. 3.”
“So all these efforts will help us realise our vision of making Singapore a distinctive "City in a Garden". Mr Zainudin asked about Marina Bay, I am pleased to inform him that the Marina Bay development is well on track. There are significant developments going ahead apace, buildings being developed and infrastructure put in place. And in the next five years, you are going to see a very different Marina Bay. It will be totally transformed when Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort is up and the Marina Bay Financial Centre is ready. We have the new double helix bridge, and the waterfront promenade which will link all these attractions together. It is a necklace of attractions. When they are all ready, Marina Bay will be a totally transformed area, a very exciting prospect for Singaporeans. For the next phase of development at Marina Bay, even as we complete this phase, we will be focusing on three new areas. The first will be the Central sub-zone which is adjacent to Shenton Way. In other words, we will move the developments from Shenton Way south into Marina South. Secondly, we will continue the development along the bay front because there are still some areas which we can develop. And last but not least, we will start to initiate development to frame the Gardens-by-the-Bay, the ones at Marina South. The existing CBD will also not be left behind. We plan to enhance public spaces within the CBD. We will improve the walkways and the street furniture, introduce landscaping and attractive lighting. Of course, we will facilitate redevelopment of some of the buildings in the CBD area as well. What about outside the CBD? Obviously, we are not concentrating our efforts on the CBD or Marina Bay alone.”
“Mr Charles Chong also asked about the promotion of energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly buildings. I am happy to inform him that the MND and BCA have formulated a comprehensive plan to promote a wider adoption of green building technology. The plan will consist of regulatory requirements for Green Mark standards as well as incentives, intensifying R&D in this area and also raising awareness of efficient building technology. He has also asked about our plans to create a "City in a Garden" and Mdm Ho Geok Choo also did the same. We will continue to expand our park infrastructure, build new parks, and enhance existing ones, such as the much loved Singapore Botanic Gardens, the well used East Coast Park and also develop a new park. The Horticulture Park is coming up on the West Coast and three world-class gardens at the heart of Marina Bay, collectively known as the Gardens by the Bay, will come up around 2010. We also intend to increase our park connectors network which is a very efficient way of leveraging on the use of existing parks. We hope to treble the land from the park connectors from 70 km to 200 km by 2012. Our waterways will also be turned into attractive recreational destinations and PUB is working on this together with NParks. As Mdm Ho Geok Choo rightly pointed out, this effort must also be a private sector effort. It cannot just be a public sector effort alone. So we will take this public-private sector approach in order to green our city. We have launched community gardening programmes, which some Members may know, are very popular in the HDB heartlands. We will mobilise public support and participation in these programme. We will work with the landscape industry to upgrade their capabilities.”
“That is a comfortable rate of increase which maintains a store of value, but at the same time, does not price it out of reach of many Singaporeans. And HDB flats will continue to remain affordable. Last year, those who bought HDB flats used, on the average, around 20% of their monthly household income to service their housing loans. 20% is actually a very comfortable margin because, by international standards, 30-35% as about the limit for expenditure on housing. So it is well within that norm of 30-35% for the debt servicing ratio. If you think about it further, this 20% that they use, most of them would actually be able to make use of their CPF contributions entirely to service this debt. They do not even have to touch their take-home pay. However, this is a dynamic situation, so we will continue to monitor both the private and also the public housing market to ensure that there is sufficient supply in the pipeline to meet demand. And if it is necessary, we can always release more sites for private development through the Government Land Sales programme or we can step up public housing development if needed. Another area of concern is transportation. More people means greater transportation needs and we need to accommodate these needs within the land constraints. The only way to do this is to promote more efficient transportation which, by definition, must be public transportation. And we will have to do this by providing a well-connected and comfortable public transport system while, at the same time, managing the growth in car population through both car ownership as well as car usage measures. The Ministry of Transport will be considering these issues when they review land transport policies and plans in the coming year.”
“But, we have to plan for our physical development ahead of time, and we have to invest in the necessary infrastructure. This is one of the reasons why the Budget this year has taken some very bold steps. We need to put in place some of these measures now to ensure not only that we have sufficient land but that we are also able to maintain a quality environment. What are some of these considerations. First, housing. In terms of housing density, we should be able to meet needs quite comfortably, provided we plan our land use carefully. Dr Amy Khor asked what kind of densities. All I can say at this point in time is that our densities will increase. We will need to build taller flats in some places, but it does not have to be so everywhere. We will continue to have a mix of different housing types, both landed as well as non-landed. We also need to make sure that quality housing will come with good amenities, proper greenery, clever use of parks and waterbodies for recreation, so that we can mitigate the impact of a denser environment. Our HDB heartlands in particular will undergo a makeover, a major regeneration. Members have expressed concern about the affordability of public housing with a larger population. I would like to reaffirm the Government's commitment to support home-ownership for eligible Singaporeans. Dr Amy Khor is also concerned that the speculative activity in the high-end market will spill over into the public housing market and, therefore, affect affordability. There is no evidence at the moment to support this concern, but we are monitoring the situation. At this point in time, overall housing prices for the whole Singapore market have increased by slightly over 10% last year, whereas the HDB resale price index increased by 2%.”
“To give ourselves an idea of the kind of trade-offs we need to make, what kind of impact a larger population will have on our infrastructure, we asked our land use planners and transport planners to come together to work with economic and social agencies to do a review of our Concept Plan. We did the last Concept Plan in 2001. This Concept Plan is our long-term land use plan for Singapore. By long-term, I am talking about 30-40 years. We have asked them to base it on a population of 6.5 million, a population projection which we derive from current demographic trends. The findings show that we have enough land - spare land, vacant land - to cater to such a population, as well as land that we can intensify. So if we take certain steps to make better use of the land, we should be able to comfortably house a population of 6.5 million, if we need to. I will elaborate on some of these plans later but I have asked the Clerk to distribute a copy of a pamphlet which sets out some of these ideas that are in the Concept Plan review. But as Members have rightly pointed out, physical infrastructure alone is not enough. We also need to be mindful of the social impact of a larger population. I know that this is outside the scope of urban planners, but it is a key consideration. Let me reiterate that this is an important consideration if we are able to grow our population. It is not a new challenge. We have always been an open economy. We have always been an immigrant society. Our population over the years has grown, both through indigenous birth as well as through immigration. As I just said, we grew from 1.9 million around the time of independence to something like 4.5 million today. So there is no reason why we cannot grow further and still remain socially cohesive.”
“They are all there. So it is a different Chengdu today supported by a population of 11 million people, all very gung-ho, all wanting to do better and better for themselves and all very optimistic about the future. We have opportunities there in Chengdu and indeed, many of our businessmen have already moved in, large and small. Surbana is developing a major township there. For the first phase, 2,000 flats were all sold out within a week. I visited one of those flats. I was quite amazed to see the quality of the interior decoration of this so-called low to middle-income housing. It had teak parquet flooring, and wallpaper, large screen plasma TVs on the walls, built-in stereo systems, high quality bathroom fittings, things that you seldom see in many Singapore homes. And this is supposed to be in Chengdu, a second-tier city. The point I am trying to make is that, even in this second-tier city, they are moving and moving fast, and they are attracting talent and investments. Intel, Motorola, Nokia and Ericsson are all there. So are our own businessmen. In fact, when the Prime Minister visited Chengdu and he spoke to the businessmen, many of them said, "Quality of life here is not bad, in fact improving, and in some areas, just as good as Singapore." If we just stay still in Singapore, I think we are making a big mistake because everybody else is moving and moving very fast. This is the reason why we have to continue to push for growth. How fast we grow and how much we grow depends on us really, on how ingenious and resourceful we are. There are many trade-offs that we need to make and it is up to us what kind of trade-offs we want to make.”
“We need a critical mass of people to support this range of activities. Hence, our population must grow. The second question then is by how much. How many more people should we add and accommodate in Singapore? As I have explained in this House, we do not have a target population per se, but what we do is to seek to enable and encourage population growth as far as possible. How large a population we can accommodate will depend on many factors, eg, our physical constraints, the quality of life that we want, our success at social integration of immigrants, and so on. If we look at major global cities, eg, London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, etc, we will find that they all have populations ranging from about seven million to 12 million people. These cities are abuzz with life and vibrancy. Even second-tier cities in China and India are growing rapidly, attracting attention from multinationals, attracting talents and investments. One example is Chengdu, which the Second Minister for Finance cited in his closing speech on Thursday. I visit Chengdu regularly, at least once a year, in my capacity as the Adviser to the Singapore-Sichuan Trade Investment Committee (SSTIC). My first visit was in 1996. At that time, I found Chengdu to be a rather drab and dreary city. The buildings were rather nondescript, with bicycles everywhere, people wandering and crossing the streets everywhere. Today, it is a booming city. Its people are well-dressed, there are cars everywhere. In fact, I am told that Chengdu is the city with the third largest car population in China. If you go to the shopping street, Chun Xi Lu, which is the equivalent of Orchard Road, you will see all the major brands there, whether it is Hugo Boss, Cartier, Starbucks, even our own Breadtalk, Old Chang Kee.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, a number of Members, including Mr Charles Chong, Dr Lily Neo and Dr Amy Khor, have asked about the 6.5 million population figure and how we can cater to the needs of such a population. I would like to begin my response by addressing this very basic question of why we should prepare for a larger population. The key messages in the Second Minister for Finance's Budget Speech this year were that we should prepare for future growth and embrace globalisation. Put very simply, without growth, we stagnate and there will be no future. We have done well over the last 40 years. We started off with very little resources, but we built up our infrastructure gradually, grew a strong economy, and improved our social services, such as education, healthcare, housing. Our development supported and, in turn, was supported by a growing population. At the time we became independent, our population was about 1.9 million. Today, we are talking about 4.5 million. Sir, in the next phase of our development, our population is expected to grow further. Two questions Members may ask: (1) Do we need to grow our population? (2) If so, by how much? My answer to the first question is an unequivocal yes. If we aspire to become a global city, we need a variety or a whole host of activities and facilities that cater to different groups of people. So, if you want hawker food, you will have hawker food, but if you want fine dining, you can have fine dining. If you want cinemas, they are there; if you prefer theatres and concert halls, we have to provide those as well. Or flea markets versus high fashion. So we need different things to cater to different needs and tastes. We need different housing types, transport modes, recreational options and employment opportunities.”
“Nonetheless, I am pleased to inform the Member that my Ministry is currently reviewing this Act, including the compensation levels. ACCIDENTS INVOLVING MOTORCYCLISTS, BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS 12. Ms Ellen Lee asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in view of the increase in the number of vehicles and fatal accident cases (a) what is the number of accidents involving bicyclists and motorcyclists for 2006; (b) how many of the motorcyclists in these accidents were newly qualified; (c) what measures have the Traffic Police taken against these motorcyclists apart from prosecution, composition fines and demerit points; (d) how many licences have been revoked and reinstated in 2006; (e) what is the number of accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists in 2006; (f) what actions have been taken against the bicyclists and errant pedestrians; and (g) what measures have the Traffic Police taken to protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.”
“In the last five years, there were about 9,000 motorists who purchased two or more season parking tickets for the same car or commercial vehicle each month, for parking in different HDB car parks. Parking charges are levied to recover the cost of providing and maintaining HDB car parks(3). They also serve to regulate parking demand. HDB sets aside a parking lot for every season parking ticket purchased by a motorist. This is to ensure availability of parking lots to season ticket holders. As such, it will have to charge the full price for the season parking ticket regardless of whether it is the first or second ticket purchased by the motorist. For motorists who park regularly at another car park, they have the choice of using hourly or whole day parking coupons, besides buying a second season parking ticket. (3) The current parking charges are below cost recovery for residential car parks. Based on the audited account for FY05/06, Car Park Activity registered a deficit of $71.9 million. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT (Raising of compensation levels) 11. Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Manpower if his Ministry will be raising the compensation levels set out in the Workmen’s Compensation Act to reduce the disparity between awards for claims made under the Act and awards for common law claims. Dr Ng Eng Hen: Under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, compensation is awarded to an injured worker regardless of fault. This is unlike common law, under which the burden of proof is on the injured worker to demonstrate that the employer was negligent. Accordingly, the compensation levels under the Act are set lower than potential awards for common law claims.”
“From the car park, visitors can then take a leisurely, scenic walk to Sungei Buloh along the “Kranji Nature Trail” developed by NParks. Since 1st July 2006, the Kranji Countryside Association has also introduced a "Kranji Express" bus service, which operates on an hourly basis from Kranji MRT station to the various farms around Kranji, including Sungei Buloh. HDB CAR PARKS (Holders of two separate season parking passes) 9. Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for National Development (a) in the last five years, how many car owners were holders of two separate season parking passes in HDB car parks; and (b) will HDB review the charges for a car owner who holds two season parking passes since at any one time he can only be using one car-park pass.”
“There has been a general increase in visitorship to the nature reserves over the past few years. For example, visitorship to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve rose from 290,000 in 2001 to 320,000 in 2006. This trend is also observed at the Labrador Nature Reserve, where visitorship rose from about 360,000 in 2004 to 480,000 in 2006. At the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, visitorship has varied between 98,000 and 116,000 per year. NParks estimates that about 20% of the visitors use public transport to get to the nature reserves. Organised groups, such as schools, corporations and grassroots organisations, which make up 30% of the visitorship, usually travel in private coaches to get to these destinations. The rest of the visitors use their own transport. Part of the attractiveness of the nature reserves like Sungei Buloh and Labrador lies in the fact that they are tucked away from the hustle and bustle of urban centres. Notwithstanding this, to facilitate visits to these nature reserves, NParks has worked with various partners to improve their accessibility. For example, SBS runs a half-hourly bus service from Harbourfront MRT station to Labrador Park on weekends and public holidays. There is also a free shuttle service from Vivo City to Labrador Park from Mondays to Saturdays. In addition, the Singapore Trolley has a regular service which brings tourists and local visitors from various locations in the city, such as Clarke Quay, Orchard Road and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, to Labrador Park. For the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, SMRT runs a bus service from the Kranji MRT station to the Wetland Reserve on Sundays and public holidays. On weekdays and Saturdays, the bus runs from Kranji MRT station to Kranji Reservoir car park.”